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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26533405">A Very ZaDr Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazellum/pseuds/Hazellum'>Hazellum</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Invader Zim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, First Kiss, HHHH YES ITS SEPTEMBER I DONT CARE, Hhhhhh, M/M, Mistletoe, ZaDr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:00:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,190</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26533405</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazellum/pseuds/Hazellum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It almsot sounded like a joke; an alien, a cryptid hunter, and some mistletoe are walking down a street. Of course, the punchline wasn't exactly funny.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zim/Dib</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Very ZaDr Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As Dib walked down the snow-dusted sidewalk, he smiled softly. It was just that perfect sort of Christmas this year; only light snow, nothing too heavy. It was just enough for making snowmen, or to have a good snowball fight. The air was crisp and cold, but not bone-chilling. Just enough to warrant scarves, and for Dib to switch out his usual trench coat for a thicker quilted version. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> As his scarf fluttered out behind him in the wintry breeze, Dib wondered if he'd finally be able to catch Jack Frost this year. After a moment's thought, he shrugged. Zim's plots, while less world-threatening recently, were certainly getting more frequent. Now it seemed like Zim was just launching into Dib, claws sharp and teeth bared, on a daily basis. Dib's neck was still sore from where Zim took a chunk out of it mid-fight a couple of days ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Worse still, Dib hadn't been able to keep focused recently while spying on Zim. He'd be sitting in class, studying Zim, with his theory notebook on his desk right in front of him. He'd be all ready to take notes, pencil in hand. And then his mind would wander, he'd stare at Zim the whole class, and when he looked down at his notebook it was filled with doodles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Little sketches of Zim. Zim laughing, or walking, or just relaxing. No dissections or vivisections, no little Zim's laid out on test tables, their intestines strewn out for analysis. Just soft doodles, almost domestic. Such a waste of pencil graphite! Dib would try to refocus, try to stay one step ahead of Zim and his plots, and his mind would just wander again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> A flurry of snowflakes caught in a breeze snapped Dib out of his thoughts, landing in his hair. Looking around, Dib realized that things had gone quiet. No birdsong, even the pigeons seemed silent. Looking around, Dib realized that the streets were empty; he'd been so lost in his thoughts he'd gotten lost on the streets as well. Just a moment ago he'd been walking down Huguenot Avenue. He could still hear the laughter of his classmates ringing in his ears, so he couldn't have gone far. But when he looked around, Dib couldn't see any of the bare trees, their branches covered in a thin layer of snow. Looking around, he was surrounded by older-looking, more rundown cinderblock buildings, none of the more upscale homes that surrounded his school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Uneasy, Dib looked around. He'd lived in New York for long enough to know that he shouldn't have let himself get lost, even if he wasn't exactly in the city center. He should have just taken the bus, like usual, but he'd wanted to avoid whatever ambush Zim would have set for him there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Speak of the devil, there comes Zim now. great. Now not only is he lost, but Dib also has to avoid getting maimed again. Dib could already feel his heart racing, almost like it knew he was going to be running for his life pretty soon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Turning around, Dib picked up speed. Behind him, he heard Zim speed up to match. When Dib started running, he could hear Zim deploy his Pak legs to gain even more speed. Dib knew there was no way he could outrun Zim now, but maybe if he could just shake him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Slipping along the ice down a sidestreet, Dib hopped a couple of fences and then dived behind a dumpster. Doing his best to hold his breath, Dib sat tensely as Zim ran past. After a moment, Dib stood up and started walking again. He'd managed to avoid the fight!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Snow crunching underfoot, Dib realized it was getting late. The sky had turned deep indigo, and the street lamps were flickering on. Great, just great. Nothing safer than walking around Staten Island at night. Why he might as well just take a stroll through Central Park! Be more cryptids there, at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> As Dib was pondering whether it was preferable to be eviscerated by Pertcha or frozen by Jack Frost, he didn't notice the flash of green streaking by. When the streetlamp ahead of him flickered out, he barely looked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> When Zim grabbed him by the scarf, Dib did take notice. After a second, however, Zim let go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "What do you want, Zim? I already evaded your attack once!" Dib shouted, blatantly ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks. Any blushing redness was just from the cold! Zim, however, didn't say anything. Instead, the alien's cheekbones flushed a dull magenta, and he looked at the ground. Dib took a step back when something in Zim's Pak clicked, and when a Pak limb rose from it, he took another. The Pak leg rose silently into the air, arcing over his and Zim's head, as another pushed him bac towards Zim. Just as Dib was tensing up, preparing to be vaporized, something unexpected happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Instead of lighting up with the pink of a laser charge, the Pak leg opened along a seam. Out sprung a bouquet of holly, and cinnamon, poinsettia and rosemary. And hanging lower than the rest was a small bundle of mistletoe, a few red berries suspended by its thin, pointy leaves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> After a moment, Zim spoke up. "Zim has come to the realization that a pathetic human such as yourself would have no knowledge of certain Irken... traditions. So, the use of more Earthen customs may be..." Zim cleared his throat, "required. To get the... point across." Zim shuffled his feet nervously, his hands clenched into fists at his side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "Zim, mistletoe doesn't mean hatred, and I could already see you hated my guts," Dib replied, salty as ever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "I know what mistletoe means, Earth-Stink," Zim said, grabbing Dib by the scarf again and pulling him forward. "And I also know that it is a foolproof trap! Once under it, a human is compelled to kiss whoever they are under it with, by something even worse than mind control. Societal norms! Cower at Zim's brilliance!" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Dib tried to reply, but he was stammering and sputtering too much to get a coherent sentence out. After a moment, Zim got impatient and moved in, landing a quick peck on Dib's lips. Stunned, Dib stood there, red in the face. It was his junior year, he was almost a senior, and his first kiss was with </span>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span>ZIM???</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Of course, it wasn't bad. Even with it only being a quick peck, Dib could tell that Zim's lips were sweet. Probably because of all the sugary snacks the alien ate. And, while Dib would have bet that Zim's lips would be hard and cold, they were soft and warm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Without thinking, Dib grabbed Zim for another kiss. Hey, if it was his first kiss, it should at least be a good one, right? And sure, he'd regret it later, but that was future Dib's problem. Future Dib could figure all this out, future Dib could wade through the quagmired maze of emotions he was feeling right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Because now, now there was just Dib, Zim, and a bundle of mistletoe.</span>
</p>
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